Regulatory intermediaries and value conflicts in policy implementation: Religious organizations and life-and-death policies in Belgium

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ciornei, Irina; Euchner, Eva-Maria; Preisner, Michalina; Yesil, Ilay
• 署名单位: University of Munich; University of Bern
• 刊物名称: REGULATION & GOVERNANCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1748-5983
• DOI: 10.1111/rego.12500
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 1076-1093
• 关键词: stem-cell research; STRATEGIC RESPONSES; ethics policies; public-policy; nursing-homes; euthanasia; beneficiaries; Hospitals; PROGRAMS; HEALTH

摘要

This article makes important contributions to governance research by studying the implementation of policies with high potential for goal incongruence between intermediaries and regulators. Building on a regulatory intermediation framework and prevailing theories from organizational institutionalism, we propose an original typology that classifies intermediaries' strategies for coping with challenging regulations. Furthermore, we explain the choice of these strategies based on intermediaries' value systems, the degree of interdependency with the regulator, and policy ambiguity. The empirical strategy is based on the case of Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim religious organizations engaged in the implementation of abortion and euthanasia policies in Belgium. These latter constitute a typical case of policy implementation that prompts value conflicts between permissive official regulations and intermediaries' conservative values on life-and-death issues.